


Only you see me

by dreamerbydawn



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Cannot believe that's a tag, Doctor Nicky, I Don't Even Know, Inspired by Just Like Heaven (2005), M/M, SUPER CHEESY, This is really just a rom com, and a happily ever after, so super cliche
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:49:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27309469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamerbydawn/pseuds/dreamerbydawn
Summary: Joe is stuck in a rather odd predicament and Nicky is the only one that can help. Problem is, he needs to somehow convince an overworked, sleep deprived, perpetually stressed looking doctor to actually take him seriously.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	Only you see me

**Author's Note:**

> So there is a warning I have alluded to but not mentioned, and if you want to know what i'm talking about and don't know the movie Just Like Heaven, reading it's synopsis will let you know what's happening. 
> 
> However, if you're willing to trust me and go with it, I promise nothing painful or triggering exists here. It's a meet cute but weirder and they're gonna be happy once they figure shit out, promise.

Joe hated Tuesdays. Nothing interesting ever happened on Tuesdays.

Granted, his current situation meant nothing interesting happened to him at all anymore. But Tuesdays were especially boring.

Weekends were for family visits, Mondays and Fridays were for Andromache, Wednesday lunch was when his favorite squad from the nurses station had their rooftop lunch soiree (Joe has especially become invested in Gaby’s new love life) and on Thursdays, well. there was the old man three doors down whose visiting daughter always spent the evening watching reality TV and Joe usually joined her.

Tuesdays though, Tuesdays he was alone. And it was always long and boring, and frankly sent him farther down the depression spiral than Joe was willing to admit to himself.

Which is precisely why he startles badly when he hears the door to his room open, and a man he has never seen before stumbles in. His visitor is leaning his forehead on the door, catching his breath from running in here, and that leaves Joe with the time to properly appraise him – well his back anyway.

The man looks young, a doctor of some kind, going by the pink scrubs and white coat ensemble and his hair is pulled into the smallest pony tail at the nape of his neck. Joe catches a glint of silver between the strands of dirty blonde that had escaped, and it has him curious enough to move towards his new companion. 

When he’s barely a foot away, he sees that he was indeed right and there are piercings, two on each ear in fact, with small silver adornments on them. It definitely adds to the allure of the slim figure and nice ass that he has already spied, and it has him grinning.

“Well at least turn around, let me see your pretty face” He says, hand waving in the air in an impatient little motion and the man leaning against the door jumps a good foot in the air in response.

Joe can’t help but jolt violently as well, and only a very small part of that was an automatic reaction to such a visceral reaction he had just garnered, the rest of it is that there even was such a reaction. He’s still staring in shock as the doctor whirls around, looking just as unprepared and caught out as Joe feels.

There’s rapid cursing and exclaiming, most of which Joe doesn’t catch for the simple reason that it’s in Italian, but also because while the doctor has his hand on his heart and is breathing through his little shock, Joe is staring at wide blue green eyes staring directly back at him.

Later, he would think they’re the most beautiful sight in the world, but for now he’s gaping openly and it’s his companion that seems to pull himself together first.

“Sorry” He says, this time in English “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here!!”

Joe blinks again, slowly, carefully, and then raises his hand to wave it directly in the man’s face. He watches as the man backs up fully against the door even as his eyes track the movement of Joe’s hands.

“You can see me” He says, dumbfounded.

“Si, yes. I – I am sorry I didn’t see you before” This stranger says.

“And you can hear me” Joe is really only stating out loud the things his brain is struggling to comprehend but it makes the man wince.

“I – yes. Once again, I deeply apologize”

The bout of silence that follows can’t really be blamed on Joe, he’s still too stunned by this turn of events to contribute anything more and the man in front of him only keeps staring back, equally wordless. After what must be a couple of minutes though, discomfort seems to overtake shock and embarrassment for his visitor.

“I will just – I’ll go. I’m sorry. Again”

It takes Joe another full minute after the man is gone to realize he’s supposed to stop him.

* * *

Nicky flees. There really is no other word for it.

He already had been fleeing of course, but running and hiding from Quynh was vastly different from outrunning the utter mortification of barging into a stranger’s room to have a private meltdown.

This time he manages to run all the way into the emergency fire escape stairway, before collapsing to the ground, totally drained. He curls into himself best as he can, hangs his head between his knees and grips his fists into his hair tightly, trying and failing to contain his sobs.

“Hello” A tentative voice calls, and Nicky startles again, eyes immediately falling on the man standing awkwardly by the door “Are you okay?” 

The man he had barged in on must have followed him all the way here, and Nicky already feels a second wave of embarrassment building. He knows he looks like a mess. There are tears still running down his face, he can feel the clumps in his eyelashes, and they’re making his vision hazy, not to mention he’s positive there’s at least some snot on his face.

He must have stared blankly for too long, because the man takes a careful step closer.

“Of course you’re not okay, that was a stupid question. Please ignore it” his tone is initially hesitant but rapidly morphs into full babbling “What’s wrong? No, you probably don’t want to tell a stranger that? Unless you do. What I mean to say is – is there anything I can do to help?”

Nicky shakes his head automatically, also making futile efforts to clear up wetness on his face. Not that there’s any use, this man has already walked in on his breakdown, it was too late for his usual claims of being totally fine.

“It’s been a rough day” Nicky manages instead, before muttering “rough few days really”

“I’m sorry to hear that” The stranger tells him kindly, and Nicky tries his best to give him a smile in response. He doesn’t think he manages though.

If he had the energy, Nicky is sure he would feel awkward at the way the silence stretches between them, but honestly he doesn’t, so he just remains seated where he is, his companion hovering a few feet away. Both of them simply remain that way for a few minutes until the other man clears his throat.

“So uh – I wanted to – Actually uh” The stranger begins, shifting from one foot to the other, and truly Nicky pities the man. While he appreciates the effort and that he’s still here at all, there really has to be better things for him to do than deal with an overworked, sleep deprived doctor going through a caffeine crash and possibly a mental health crisis.

“I swear I used to be better at this” the other man grumbles to himself, making Nicky smile a little, and motivating him enough to get back to his feet.

“Oh? You have met crying doctors in empty fire escapes a lot before?” he teases, only growing more amused at the sight of the glare it earns him.

“At talking to actual people” his companion says, crossing his arms defensively against his chest, which does wonders for his arms.

And now that Nicky is paying attention, he notices that the man is extremely handsome. He’s wearing a dark leather jacket and incredibly tight jeans paired with a light shirt and sneakers, and his hair is beautiful, lush dark curls looking intentionally tousled. The whole well coordinated look stands out even more in comparison to Nicky’s own current state of disarray and internally, he thinks its par for course for his consistently shitty life.

It figures that the one time he runs into an incredibly hot man who was probably some kind of model, Nicky would look blotchy and pink and have red rimmed eyes to offset the bags and dark circles already present.

“Well ‘ _talking to actual people’_ has never really been in my skill set” Nicky admits, a fact that Quynh and Nile constantly bemoaned. They would probably also groan at the fact that he did air quotes to emphasize his point, but they weren’t here to judge so he continues “but I think people usually start with introductions?”

The other man’s lips twitch the slightest bit, so Nicky counts it as a win and holds his hand out “Nicolò, but everyone calls me Nicky”

The man looks at Nicky’s outstretched hand for a long moment, seemingly unsure what to do about it, before sighing and stepping forward.

“That’s one way to do it, yes” He agrees, and looks at Nicky straight in the eye as he reaches forward “I’m Joe”

“Joe, hello” Nicky repeats with a slight smile, before it dawns on him that something is off.

He’s still holding out his hand and he saw the man take his hand and there’s a weird sensation where there should be a firm handshake, which makes Nicky look down to –

To where Joe’s hand is passing right through his own?

“Please don’t freak out” Joe says, and the words make Nicky look back up in alarm, and then down again as he tries to grip the hand in front of him, only for him to go right through like it’s just air.

This is it.

He always knew this day would come.

He is certifiably insane.

Or no, his mental health had long since deteriorated to those levels, he’d just been unwilling to accept he had a problem.

Point being, Nicky’s finally lost his last thread of sanity.

Because hallucinations.

Hallucinations were the point where you stop pretending you didn’t need a psychiatrist, right?

Nicky feels yet another strange sensation, this time on his back and it makes him shudder. When the feeling persists, he dares to open his eyes again from when he had squeezed them shut in desperate hopes that his phantom would disappear.

But no, there he was, much closer to Nicky (and failing at rubbing comfortingly on his back)

“You’re not real” Nicky positively whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut again

“I’m real” The man insists.

Nicky refuses to listen to the voice, and instead hopes this is a dream. When pinching himself fails to do anything but sting, he falls back on his medical training. Hallucinations can be caused by several different things, not just mental illnesses, this could be an altered state of mind thing, he wasn’t drunk and coffee technically wasn’t a drug regardless of his dependence on it and –

“You’re not hallucinating” His hallucination tells him.

But of course he was, it could hear his thoughts and was now talking to him and Nicky needed to – he’s not sure. Sleep maybe? Sleep deprivation could definitely cause strange things to happen.

“Really, you’re not hallucinating. I’m a ghost” The voice tells him before pausing for a brief moment “No, that’s not right, I’m not dead yet, so technically, I can’t be a ghost. I’m a spirit? Maybe? I don’t know the terminology here really. Occults were not really in my wheelhouse I’ll admit. And I’ve not had the chance to talk to anyone recently, being a spirit and all you see”

His hallucination is chatty, because of course it is, and it makes Nicky groan out loud.

“Point is, I’m here and you’re the only one who can see me”

Which is, after all, precisely what a hallucination is, and Nicky is so not equipped to handle any of this. 

Did Nicky mention he really hated Tuesdays?

**Author's Note:**

> Who is here for some cheerful (temporary) ghost Joe and grumpy (constantly) exhausted Nicky shenanigans in the next chapter?


End file.
